EDF Energy pays penalty for mishandling customer complaints

LONDON (Reuters) - EDF Energy , one of Britain's big six energy suppliers, will pay 3 million pounds to benefit vulnerable customers after regulator Ofgem found the company guilty of breaching complaint handling rules. Ofgem said the company, the British subsidiary of French energy giant EDF, was not able to properly handle customer complaints between May 2011 and January 2012 when it was introducing a new IT system. "EDF Energy did not have appropriate procedures in place to properly receive, record and process all customers' complaints in accordance with complaints handling rules," said Ofgem in a statement. EDF Energy will pay the penalty to two charities that support energy users struggling to pay their bills. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Li-mei Hoang)